The present invention relates to the tracking of individuals to maintain knowledge of their location. More specifically, present invention relates to a lightweight tracking tag which can be worn by an individual.
Electronic monitoring of individuals such as offenders, has primarily relied upon electronic monitoring at a fixed located such as the offenders home or place of employment. These systems relied upon a land line telephone link and are commonly known as house arrest systems. These systems utilized a body worn transmitter which could not be removed by the offender and a stationary receiver located at the monitoring location. The body worn portion of the device transmits a signal a short distance to the receiver located at the monitoring location. The receiver communicates with a central monitoring service over standard telephone lines. The tracking system of this type is limited in that it can only provide an indication of the presence or absence of the offender at the monitored location at a given time. This type of system cannot offer location information if the offender leaves the monitored location.
Other systems with greater portability have also been used to collect information regarding the present location of a tracked individual. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,757 teaches a portable device for tracking and offender""s position. The tracking apparatus of this patent includes a small body worn non-removal portion and a larger heavier portable portion not attached to the offenders body. The larger portable portion keeps track of location, while the smaller body worn portion ensures that the offender is close to the larger portable device. This type of system proves not only cumbersome but limiting in that the individual being tracked must carry the large portable device which is noticeable to others.
Other devices exist which attempt to combine the functions of the large portable unit and the body worn transmitter into a single unit. Devices which attempt to achieve this combination are taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,712,619; 5,497,149; 6,014,080 and 5,742,233. These devices lack the functionality and versatility of the present invention to properly track individuals in a variety of conditions and provide comprehensive monitoring
The present invention is a one-piece lightweight waterproof personal tracking tag which is attached to an individual using either a tamper detection strap or other suitable means of connection. The tag communicates with a global positioning satellite network and a wireless network to obtain geographic location information and to exchange data with a centralized data system. The tag monitors the location of the wearer of the tag, compares the monitored location to a database of acceptable and unacceptable location and time parameters and provides updates to a centralized database system, the monitoring center, and receives downloads and updates from the system.
In order to track one or more offenders, each of which having an individual set of allowed geographic and temporal restrictions, the system must maintain an extensive database of offenders and corresponding restrictions. The tag incorporates a processor, flash memory, a cellular modem, a GPS receiver, tamper detection, and a rechargeable battery into a single lightweight unit. One or more offenders are provided with a tracking tag. Each of the tags reports into the monitoring center 30 on a periodic basis. The reporting basis can be on a predetermined schedule and/or can be based upon detection of a violation or other reportable condition detected by the tag itself. Information reporting by the various tags is recorded and analyzed at the monitoring center by the data tracking system to determine if offender violations have occurred. The centralized data tracking system can then take an appropriate action to notify, respond to and/or correct the noted violation.